yeah. WFF is right near my house. I wanted to go last year and this year but I can't really swing the funds for it. It sounds totally awesome but I don't mind skipping it. Let me know if you need anything or want to hook up when you are in the area though I'm sure you'll be set with all the fruit you can eat and lots of new friends! Enjoy the noodles! You got me thinking about them and I decided to make some myself last night after taking a break from raw veggies for a while. They're awesome!

Felt a bit tired going into it but motivated to get another workout in this week. I've been less active about eating so many cals in order to give my digestion a break and work on listening to hunger signals. I've been feeling better and still need to work on this as well as getting more good rest/sleep. I've been getting over 8 hours a night but would like to get more as I am waking up a bit tired still. I'm happy with the more intuitive style workouts I've been doing and not having to worry about being consistent with a strict program as this is completely secondary to my health right now.

I've been doing better. My reflux has subsided a lot. I was under eating for about a week so this seemed to help my digestion but has been hard because of cravings and feeling low at times.I'm so happy the weather is in the 60s again and this has made my lunch time walk so awesome! i never want to go back in to work afterwards. I have been having 3 meals a day. So I do 2 banana smoothies at a time which is like 1100 cals and the dinner in a longer stretch as I have more time at home but I have been eating fruits folowed by a green juice. I would still like to up my greens to up my protein and EFAs as well as balance my cal/phos/mag ratio a bit. I know I can do better and am really working on getting there. I will be on vacation visiting Marco Island, FL all next week so I am looking forward to the sun, the beach, ripe tropical fruit, and relaxing. When I get back I plan to hit the wholesale place I found in Brooklyn which looks to be a good bet for stocking up on cheap cases of fruit/veg including some tropical stuff I can't get in New Paltz.Anyway, the workouts have felt pretty good and I am not on a particular program at the moment which helps me not get too down about consistency when I am trying to focus on health. I've noticed squats seem to aggravate my right shoulder which I have a history of bursitis and inflammation in. I would like to be doing better on my squats but with this issue and the fact that I have not been consistent, I am not sure what to do to progress besides taking it slow. I have been doing chins/pullups every workout as my first movement and I am already progressing. I hope this will help develop my upper body more and strengthen my upper back as well as my shoulders.

I just want to post an update because I feel like a slacker.My goal is to be healthy, happy, and look awesome so I can rep being vegan and my other lifestyle choices. So I need to be consistent in terms of these goals and this website has been a big inspiration for me and I just want to contribute.

I was visiting Naples, FL all of last week which was awesome. So sunny, 85 degree days, lots of beach time as well as hikes in the everglades and big cypress.I loved being able to buy mostly ripe fruit even in supermarkets or at least having fruit ripen within a day or 2. I still suck at knowing when melons are ripe but I was able to eat as many Atualfo Mangoes as I wanted and also had a decent stash of bananas. We usually made big fresh salsas at night and made wraps with lettuce leaves and some avocado. I maintained my weight at 135.0 lbs even though I was more active than I am at home (sedentary day job) and felt like I was undereating a bit due to being out a lot and not having enough fruit with me. Anyway, it felt great to be in such a tropical climate and I long for the day that I can live somewhere like that.But I'm back home in New Paltz, NY now with a big stash of fruit I got in Brooklyn on my way back up state. I found a wholesaler and was able to get $9 cases of atualfo mangoes, cheap cases of papaya, honeydew melon, tomatoes, and valencia oranges. So I'm pretty stocked up for now with my bananas keeping at home while I was away which is nice as well. I hope I can get down to this wholesaler every other week though it's about 2 hours from my house but well worth it for the selection of fruit and prices though not organic. So I have 2200 cals of banana smoothies with me today at work and will look forward to a big mango dinner followed by a big salad. I hope to get back to more consistent lifting ASAP.For now, I'm enjoying feeling healthy, my stomach has felt good, and I'm happy about all the sun and beach from the trip.

So I've been trying to maintain my health and still be fit however I'm always wanting more.I've been doing well with my health though it's always the last 10% or so that's so hard to attain. I've been mostly consistent with eating and I'm trying to make sure I get all I need by tracking on cronometer. I have been using a food scale and actually updating how I feel throughout the day using notes. I am considering consulting with someone in the near future regarding my health issues/nutrition/other lifestyle factors so this will be good to have detailed recent history of my diet and notes.I am also considering finally getting feedback on my form with the big lifts. Along with digestive issues, I've had physical issues like bursitis in my right shoulder, pain in my right foot, upper back issues from various activities like running, squatting, and other lifts, and most recently I have been getting a subtle/numbing pain in my right hand/arm/shoulder from my desk activities at work. I would like to rehab all of these things and get my form perfected on my lifts so that I can attain perfect health as well as gain more strength/muscle without sacrificing any aspect of my health. During my lifts last night I made some intuitive adjustments to avoid pains I get in my shoulder area when doing squats, bench, and rows. I think I was pretty successful but still feel like my overall form can use some work. I read a lot about this stuff, watch tons of videos, but think it's really time to step it up with some sort of hands on feedback like a trainer. I have already contacted a local trainer and will wait to hear back.As always, I like to do things on my own, and never really have the money to spend on anything, but these things are important and I'm really interested in them so I need to put in the effort as well as some money to reach my goals.

So I think I mentioned in my last post that I was thinking about seeking out feedback on my form and possibly interested in going to a trainer. I did a quick search and found a new local gym, emailed the guy, and he said come down for a free session. So Friday afternoon I went. It's a crossfit gym so I kind of knew what they were about but thought it was worth checking out. So they put me through a modified crossfit session and it was super intense! I think it's pretty awesome what they do but I'm not sure it's for me at this time as my stated goals are to remain in good health which for me right now means not pushing myself too hard. And crossfit = pushing yourself as hard as possible. It really calls out to the side of me that always pushes too hard and leaves myself worn out possibly compromising my health while I am still in a healing phase. I felt both good and bad after my session as the intensity is not something I'm used to. I don't think I will go back for the above reasons and because I don't really have the money right now to invest in something I'm not 100% into.Here's my workout:

warmups: 5x50 jump ropes, small medicine ball movements, some leg stretchessome skill tests: bodyweight squats to check form, ring rows, pullups, situps, row machine, pushupsSquats: a couple sets of 5 with ascending weights (not sure what they were) last set felt heavy for me. last rep was tough. they said my form looked good and to just keep doing squats to get better - not really what I was looking for as I know I have some issues and was hoping for more feedback and to learn about some accessory exercises to help with my squat in particular.Crossfit timed circuit: 500m row machine, 40 air squats, 30 situps, 20 pushups, 10 ring rows. 8.5 minutes

The circuit was kind of fun and you do get a full body workout in under 10 minutes but again, really intense and maybe just too much for me at this time. There is a side of me that likes this kind of torture I guess but I need to not wear myself out too much just now. I watched 5 people doing a tabata session which looked even more intense. They did mostly those same exercises in my circuit but they would do 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off x 8 with each one. Everyone looked destroyed by the end.

I do feel a bit sore today and am happy I checked it out and was able to complete a circuit as well as get some feedback on my squat. The person I was working with guessed that I was vegetarian, then vegan somehow (I'm lean and live in New Paltz?) It's funny because while this town is conscious about veganism, I don't really know that many vegans or at least true ethical vegans. So I'm not sure how they just knew...maybe I smell sweet! Anyway, that led to a small comment about getting enough protein and all that kind of advice. It's cool, they were cool about it. It's just personally not something I need to worry about at this time. My goal is health and I am doing what I believe is my path to perfect health. I have been feeling better and better and believe I will get there in time. It's also funny because I have been focusing a bit more on protein and feeling like I need to make sure I am getting enough for me and a good amino acid profile. I use cronometer everyday and have had problems digesting greens which are a good source of protein for a raw vegan. I have been juicing greens but have decided to juice more! I am aiming for 0.8g/kg bodyweight as I believe recommended by the World Health Organization so for me at 135 lbs is about 50 g. When I don't get my juices in or have had trouble digesting greens and then skipping them for a few days, I have been getting under 50 g of protein a day which is no good on any diet. So I need to eat more greens or just a lot more in general which is also difficult for me as getting 3000-4000 cals is still challenging with such busy days and sometimes dwindling fruit supplies. Bananas have been tough to get back on track with since I got back from Florida but should be settled by next week. I have been eating more dates again which are not the best for me and also offer very little protein. I know I will work all this out and be doing better than ever.

I'm eating a big 1350 g (500 cals) honeydew melon as I type - so good!I have 4 banana smoothies with me as well - 2200 cals!I have been doing the green juices and feeling better.I also went back to the wholesale place in Brooklyn and got 14 cases of Ataulfo Mangoes, 2 cases of papayas, 2 cases of honeydews, 2 cases of valencia oranges, and a jackfruit! Yesterday I got 4 cases of bananas, 12 heads of romaine, other veggies, and 6 lbs of medjool dates at my local place so I am stocked!

Felt good to do a nice full body workout. I think I'll try to stick with this workout where I'll increase reps from 8-12, then add 10% and start at 8 reps again. I need to start light enough that I'm not overdoing it and not dreading workouts. I need to find a good weight for squats.

had a quick mango smoothie and then went for a 40 minute walk on the rail trail!

So I have been eating lots of banana/spinach smoothies (my new fav). I think it's been helping me up my greens/protein intake which is keeping me more satiated and not digesting as fast as I seem to still be having some trouble with sugar metabolism. I have lots of cases of ataulfo mangoes at home as well as some papaya, valencia oranges, tomatoes, honeydews, and of course bananas.I have been drinking a green juice every morning as well to help get in the greens/protein. I have been tracking everything on cronometer by weight and I seem to be hitting all my targets and getting plenty of my daily needs.

About Jack Fruit: it looks similar to durian with a spiky shell. I cut it in half 3 times and scooped out fruit which is encased like durian only the jack fruit has thick pasta like hairs surround the fruit. the sap inside is very sticky. there is a chestnut like seed inside each full fruit piece. supposedly you can roast these and they taste sort of sweet and chestnut like. the fruit is orange and tastes like bubblegum or some weird artificial candy flavor. the fruit is thick, fleshy, and chewy. it was hard to eat a quantity of it. i may have let it sit too long before cutting open so it may have been turning a bit but I can't imagine eating much of it even totally ripe. I wasted most of it unfortunately. I tried eating a small bit at a time but eventually it got gross. I tried a little bit with bananas in a smoothie and that was quite gross as well. oh well, it was fun to try. I also read that it can be used unripe as a mock meat which makes sense given the consistency.

Feeling good. I have been going on some nice hikes lately. 3 hours on Sunday at Mohonk up to the mountain house.I have been lifting 2 times a week now which I seem to be able to stick to. The workouts are tough and my working sets are nice and hard. I am still wanting to get my form down for squats.I have been gaining some weight and am up to 141. I need to retake my measurements soon to compare to the measurements in late January.Diet lately has been water, green juice, honeydew, banana/spinach smoothies, tomatoes, mangoes, papaya, avocado, and occasional OJ.

I've been doing 2 full body workouts a week and also doing lots of walking, hiking, as well as some running and playing some sports.

My workout from Saturday, 4/28, was simply a repeat of my last workout (I'll add a rep to each exercise each week from 8-12 reps, then increase 10% if I get all the reps and start again at .

I went for an awesome hike on saturday as well - lots of rock scrambling and steep hills on the mountain. it was fun to be off trail and just scrambling around on boulders and making my way through the trees.

on sunday i went for a morning hike for about 1 hour and also got out again in the evening for another 45 minutes or so on a different trail.

green smoothies, honeydew melons, and banana/spinach smoothies have been my staples! i've also been able to add in some papayas, mangoes, and tomatoes.

This was a tough workout but I made all the lifts so I will be increasing weight on all lifts starting next week and starting reps at 8 again. I am happy with the setup and am able to be consistent 2 times a week.

Back Squats: 43.6x5, 63.6x5, 81x5, 102.2x5, 122.2x4Chins: 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2Abs: 20 situps + playing around with BB rollouts from knees - couldn't go all the way without pain in lower back

This all felt good as I've been wanting to do more and work on some strength.I've been noticing some decent body composition and want to keep it up and gain some decent muscle mass so I can look like I'm working out and really rep a vegan lifestyle!I've been crushing honeydew melon, banana smoothies, and ataulfo mangoes, as well as some green juice.